


Lost Souls

by Silence_Will_Fall201



Series: World Undead [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A slight bout of kidnapping but that's okay, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by The Walking Dead, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, One Shot, Read the first one in the series please, a mix of both, this is relatively happy tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23460442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silence_Will_Fall201/pseuds/Silence_Will_Fall201
Summary: Four years after the events of Lost Heroes, Noah asks Stiles to leave Beacon Hills with intent to find other communities and camps. Stiles just does that, and brings Lydia along for the ride.-Read Lost Heroes first or you will not understand anything here
Relationships: Lydia Martin & Scott McCall, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Malia Tate, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall/Malia Tate
Series: World Undead [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1458919
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	Lost Souls

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first one shot! You'll be happy to know that there will be more every once in a while until I get the time to begin a full story like Lost Heroes. I don't want you guys to go without content for a while, so here!
> 
> Enjoy!

Stiles slumped onto the couch at Scott and Malia’s house with a sigh. He dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling and he briefly wondered when life got so domestic. A squeal from down the hall broke him from his thoughts and his body tensed up. Soon, a small body was jumping onto the couch next to him and burying her head of dark brown hair into his chest. Stiles stiffly put his arm around the little girl and she pulled back, her smiling face making Stiles dread what it was that she wanted.

“Play more?” She asked with a toothy grin, showing off the gap where one of her front teeth had fallen out.

“I’m really tired, Al,” Stiles let out a puff of air and Allison McCall pouted, crossing her arms. She was five, nearly six years old, and just as expressive and stubborn as her mother, and Stiles was on babysitting duty.

Allison looked so much like her parents that it wasn’t funny. Her dark brown hair and tanned skin was all Scott’s but she looked so much like Malia in her face - her nose especially, Stiles couldn’t get over that - and her eyes held that trademarked Hale spark that Stiles couldn’t describe. Even for being the daughter of two were-creatures, Allison hadn’t shown any signs of shifting, but thanks to Peter’s advice on were-children, she’d likely be presenting signs within the next few years, which clearly got her parents nervous. Nobody really wanted a child running around with claws during school - which was something Beacon Hills had, weird.

“Mitty is asleep, so I have time to play,” Allison deepened her pout and Stiles groaned.

“Mitty is a baby, and should be sleeping. So should you, little miss,” Stiles told her. ‘Mitty’ was Allison’s nickname for her baby brother, Mitchell McCall - Stiles had a hand in naming the kid, and may or may not have done a subtle nod to his own real first name.

“When are mommy and daddy coming home?” Allison asked as she slumped in the seat next to Stiles, “you’re no fun, Uncle Stiles,” Stiles frowned but shook his head.

“No clue, kiddo, but you’re going to bed okay?” Stiles stood and picked a squirming Allison up off the couch.

“But I don’t wanna!” Allison batter her fists on Stiles shoulder and he simply sighed and took her to her bedroom.

Stiles set her down on her tiny little bed - handmade from the town carpenter - and she pulled herself under her covers. Stiles sat on the bed as she lay her head down on her pillows. She was still pouty, but seemed okay to be sitting in a comfortable bed.

“Better now, kid?” Stiles asked and Allison reluctantly nodded.

“Can you sing me a song?” She asked and Stiles blanched but shook his head.

“Oh, no, kiddo, you’re not getting that one out of me. Just go to sleep okay?” Stiles rubbed his hand over his face. He had little to no paternal instincts at all, and clearly Allison noticed.

“You’d make a bad dad,” Allison said with a giggle.

“Wow, thanks, I totally didn’t get that already,” Stiles deadpanned and Allison narrowed her eyes - a very Malia expression Stiles noticed.

“You’re a fun uncle. Sometimes,” Allison added and with that, she turned in her bed, her back to Stiles and Stiles stood up.

Stiles crept back into the lounge room just as the front door opened, revealing Scott and Malia, and the look of relief on his face was palpable. Scott and Malia were both splattered with blood, Malia a little more so, and dressed in gear to go outside the walls in. Stiles was a little sad he missed whatever it was out there.

“God, I love that kid to death but I can only take so much,” Stiles said with a sigh. Malia shook her head and Scott cracked a smile, “for the record, why do I have to babysit Peter’s grandkids? Peter literally does nothing, and yet I’m supposed to stay here and take care of your kid who is way more hyperactive than I ever was and I have ADHD,” Stiles said, waving his hands around erratically.

“She loves you,” Scott shrugged and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“She literally said I’m fun _sometimes_ ,” Stiles scoffed as if he was offended, “ _Sometimes?_ Seriously?”

“Dude, lighten up, she’s a kid,” Scott shrugged.

“I’m her honorary uncle, I reserve the right to be offended,” Stiles frowned, “so what did I miss?” Stiles flopped down on a dining chair as Scott grabbed a glass of water.

“A hoard out by the border, threatening Cora’s settlement,” Malia answered with a frown, “she and a few others are thinking about making the move up here. Their area’s getting harder to manage,”

“How’s she doing by the way?” Stiles asked and Scott sighed.

“She’s okay, but she’s not really herself at the moment. I think she wants to be close to family,” Scott answered and Stiles nodded.

“Makes sense, the Hale’s are all about family,”

“Yeah,” Malia muttered, “It’s getting late, do you want to go home?”

“Oh yes please,” Stiles yawned and stretched as he stood up, “I babysat your little demon child all day, least you guys can do is let her have a playdate with Aaron tomorrow,” Aaron was Carson’s son with David. He looked so much like his father that sometimes it hurt Carson to look at him, but she loved him.

“I’m sure Ally would love that,” Scott smiled, “see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Stiles waved them off as he left the house.

Stiles put his hands in his pockets as the cool air of night hit him. He shivered slightly and began to stroll back to his and Lydia’s house. Life had gotten easier in the past four and a half years, but somehow it seemed so surreal to Stiles. He’d spent more time in Beacon Hills than he had out in the open without walls and a house to go back to, yet some part of him yearned for it. His life was so much better; he had Lydia by his side, his dad, Scott and most of his friends together, he was living with Lydia and babysitting Scott’s kids - _Scott’s kids_ \- and he was content, usually. But a part of him, that raw human part of him, missed the survival, missed that mentality.

“You got your head in the clouds again?” Lydia stood on the porch of their house, wrapped tightly in a coat as she shivered through the cold, and Stiles couldn’t help but smile when he saw her.

“Not anymore,” Stiles got up to the porch and kissed Lydia gently.

“How was Al and Mitch?” Lydia asked as the two walked inside. Stiles groaned and shook his head.

“Al will be the death of me, I swear,” Stiles laughed, “she insisted on being piggy backed through the house five times, I’m starting to feel old,” Stiles dramatically dropped his torso, so his back was curved like an elderly man.

“Oh please, you’re only twenty-four,” Lydia smacked his arm playfully and Stiles stood straight with a grin.

“How was your day?” Stiles asked her as the two sat on their living room couch, practically touching legs.

“Boring, I did administration work for your dad all day,” Lydia sighed, “I think he wants to start something more alike to democracy around here,”

“Yeah?” Stiles raised an eyebrow, “What’s that going to look like?”

“He’s got big plans, but he’s thinking getting the police station sort of up and running again with people policing the streets. He’s also thinking about maybe a council, or some sort of governing system where the people get a say,”

“Huh,” Stiles muttered, “he’s really trying to rebuild civilisation, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Lydia sighed, “I’m not sure how it’s going to work, but I hope it does,”

“Anything else new?” Stiles rubbed Lydia’s shoulders which were tense, and Lydia almost melted into Stiles’ touch.

“Rachael came by the station with Talia,” Lydia said, “I can’t believe Derek’s a dad now,”

“Me either. Weird things happen in the apocalypse. Peter’s a grandfather, Scott and Malia have two kids, Derek has one, you and I are living together,” Stiles shrugged playfully and Lydia rolled her eyes with a smile.

“Oh, yeah _super_ weird,” she laughed and Stiles grinned.

“Oh, by the way - I don’t want kids. Ever,” Stiles stated with a slight humorous undertone and Lydia nodded, “I literally have no idea what to do with kids,”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not ruining this body for a kid that’ll just cry and poop all day,” Lydia shrugged, “my mom always used to say that it’s different when they’re your own children though,”  
“Maybe…” Stiles hummed, trailing off, “how about we get to bed, yeah?”

“I have something in mind before we do that,” Lydia smirked, “I haven’t seen you _all_ day,”

“Oh…no you have not,” Stiles grinned and the two got off the couch, Lydia leading him upstairs to their bedroom.

* * *

Stiles met Scott in the library, where he was sitting in the kids section, reading Allison a story. Scott smiled when he saw Stiles and spoke softly to Allison before standing to meet his friend. The two sat on a nearby table so Scott could keep watch on his daughter while he and Stiles talked business. It had been a while since Stiles had been asked to do anything, but whatever it was seemed like it was important as Noah himself had asked Scott to handle it with Stiles.

“So what’s up?” Stiles asked and Scott sighed.

“Your dad wants you and someone of your choosing to go outside the walls to find other communities,” Scott told him and Stiles’ eyes widened slightly, “he seems adamant that us and Cora’s settlement aren’t the only people around,”

“Well we know we’re not the only people, but why ask me?” Stiles asked with a frown.

“Out of all of us, you’ve got the most experience out there, you’re a good judge of character and you won’t hesitate to…” Scott trailed off and Stiles nodded, catching what he was about to say.

“Kill?” Stiles asked even though he knew what it was Scott was going to say.

“Yeah, that,” Scott tensed but continued, “Your dad only wants you to bring one other person, because he wants you to be safe but he also wants someone who can get help if the other is hurt,”

“Smart,” Stiles nodded, “I can’t take you, Mal, Lydia or Carson because you either have kids or have important jobs, so I’ll find someone from my old group I think,”

“Anyone you like. When you’re ready, just come by the station and your dad will tell you where he thinks some settlements might be,” Scott said and Stiles sighed.

“Sure, thanks,” Stiles smiled tightly and went to leave the library.

Stiles’ old group changed radically over the years. Carson became a mother and almost firmly planted herself within the walls, even though she too had a part of herself that loved it outside them. Emma had taken off to Cora’s settlement - Affectionally called Eden, although it was no longer that safe of a zone - and nobody had seen her in a while. Tanvi and Josh ended up living together - in a roommates situation, though nobody could be certain if there wasn’t anything else there - and Tanvi worked with the patrol and watch group, while Josh was a teacher at the building dedicated to being the school - nobody knew he loved kids until they got to Beacon Hills and were accepted by everyone. Henry had unofficially - though everyone considered it official - adopted Julia and Tyler, and he’d become the strategy advisor for the community. Julia had turned nineteen, and had found herself working in the infirmary with the Doctors, she’d taken an interest in medicine and was apprenticing. Tyler, on the other hand, turned seventeen and began acting out. He’d found a group of other teenagers, and they were definitely a bad influence on the kid, but Stiles couldn’t really talk. Chris Argent, though not part of their group for long, adopted an infant werewolf boy named Max that North and her pack mates found on a run.

After the library, Stiles found himself at Carson’s door. He went to knock, then decided not to only for the door to open before he could turn away. Carson stared at Stiles with a slight smile on her lips and Stiles couldn’t help but smile back. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, her brown eyes that were once so hard and harsh had a softness to them, and she wore practical but clothes that had actual thought to them, rather than whatever they could find on a good day. She looked good, and well adjusted.

“Hey,” Carson greeted.

“Hey,” Stiles returned, “can I come in?”

“Sure,” Carson walked inside, leaving the door open for Stiles to walk in and close it behind him.

“Where’s Aaron?” Stiles asked and Carson gestured vaguely to the stairs.

“He’s having a bit of a tantrum because I didn’t make enough cookies apparently,” Carson laughed and Stiles chuckled slightly to himself.

“How are you doing, Car?” Stiles asked, sitting down at the dining table across from Carson.

“I’m good, actually,” she said, “I…I like being a mom. It’s weird, and something I never thought I’d do, but I like it. I’m a bit more determined to never do to Aaron what my parents did to me, I guess,” she shrugged.

“That’s good. I always thought hunter families were super harsh to their kids,” Stiles shuddered and Carson nodded in agreement.

“My dad was an asshole and my mom was the bitch that let him,” Carson frowned, “I’m not going to do that to Aaron, partially because I can’t really because of the state of the world,”

“That’s true, I suppose,” Stiles pondered, “My dad and Scott asked me to go out and find other communities,”

“Really?” Carson frowned, “They haven’t seemed too concerned with that before,”

“They haven’t, but I think my dad wants to restart civilisation or whatever,” Stiles shrugged.

“Well as long as we turn into undead freaks when we die, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Carson said, “but he can try as much as he liked. Beacon Hills has been the most domesticity I’ve ever had in my life,”

“My dad wants me to bring someone with me, and I was wondering if you’d give me some advice on who to bring,” Stiles sighed.

“You and Tanvi always work well together, but I don’t think Lydia would be all too happy about that to be honest,” Carson laughed and Stiles rolled his eyes, “you could take Josh, but he’s got his job here, and Henry’s stuck with two teenagers. I’m not sure anyone from our old group would be appropriate here really…” she trailed off.

“I’d take Tanvi, but I’d ask Lydia if she’s okay with it. I need someone by my side who I trust, and I really don’t trust Damien, Rhea or any of the wolves that like to spend their days outside the walls rather than in,” Stiles frowned, “I’d probably just go on my own, but having someone with me is the smart play,”

“Check in with Lydia. Do you think you’ll find someone?” Carson asked and Stiles looked to the ground.

“I don’t know. There has to be others out there, so I’m sure there’s other communities like this one somewhere, but I’m not sure my dad will be sending me in the right places,” Stiles explained and Carson nodded.

“Then go where you think you should go,”

* * *

Stiles and Lydia set out the next day, hiking packs on their backs and clothes that they were okay with getting torn and bloody. Lydia had her strawberry blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail, and Stiles marvelled at how beautiful she looked with no makeup - something he’d learnt to appreciate very much since returning. In the years that Stiles had adapted to Beacon Hills, he’s cut his hair again - it wasn’t as short as it was before but it also wasn’t as long as it got when he was living outside - and he’d kept his beard - per Lydia’s instructions, apparently she got used to it quickly and found it, in her words, ‘extremely hot however patchy’, so of course Stiles kept it.

“I haven’t really been out here in a while,” Lydia muttered as they walked down the road that led out of Beacon Hills, trees lining both sides of the road and spread out as far as they could see. Lydia slowed her walk and put her head up, eyes closed as she listened to the sounds of birds.

“It’s peaceful out here,” Stiles commented, “most of the time at least,”

“How long did it take you to get used to it?” Lydia asked.

“Well I never really lived on my own out here. I was always with someone, but I learnt to appreciate the lack of cars and highway noise, and to focus on the nature that seemed to re-integrate into places where humans had built up,” Stiles told her as they walked leisurely.

“What do you mean?” Lydia asked with a curious eye.

“You’d occasionally see deer in cities once filled with cars and concrete. I’m sure everything’s really overgrown now and the wildlife have taken their claim,” Stiles chuckled.

The two found a car on the side of the road about a mile away from the entrance to Beacon Hills, and Stiles worked on hot-wiring it while Lydia studied the map Noah had given them from the passenger seat. The map was hand drawn, information gathered by scouts that the town occasionally sent out, and there were places marked that may contain human settlements.

“There’s a marker nearby,” Lydia said as Stiles managed to get the engine running, “It’s just off the highway, it says that it’s probably an abandoned school. We should check it out,”

“Alright,” Stiles smiled and pulled the drivers side door closed.

They drove down the road, Lydia giving Stiles direction where she could. They came to the highway, Lydia staring at it, amazed at what she saw. Stiles wondered how she hadn’t seen something like that, but quickly remembered that she’d spent the whole time in Beacon Hills, and most of that time behind walls. Lydia stared with sad eyes as Stiles slowly weaved their car in-between vehicles that had been left on the highway, some of their doors opened and belongings strewn about the place giving a grim picture of what happened. There was a line of pots and pans strung up across the highway just behind where Stiles and Lydia had entered, and there was a small group of zombies snarling at any sound that passed them. As Stiles drove, they passed quite close to the zombies and Lydia jumped as one smashed its head against the passenger window, black blood quickly coating the once clear, but dusty glass.

The zombies had changed too, they started to not look so…fresh. Most of them were decayed, or decaying, with body parts missing, skin missing and most had their organs gone. Some of them were basically walking skeletons with skin covering only parts of their bodies - Stiles saw that the skin seemed the most fresh around the head and joints, making him wonder if whatever virus infected them knew to keep certain parts of the body in as good condition as possible in order for the zombies to still be walking around.

“It’s just down here,” Lydia pointed to a spot on the side of the highway. Stiles nodded and found an exit off the highway in order to drive down there.

They reached the school where the scouts had said looked as if there might’ve been people living there, and they got out of their car. The air was cold as the light began to dim. Lydia pulled a jacket on and shivered, while Stiles walked up to the doors of the school, not paying attention to the cooling air as night began to fall.

The doors to the school opened with a creak, and Stiles and Lydia peered inside. The building was dark and wet, the sounds of water droplets falling echoing through the halls that were otherwise silent. Stiles gave Lydia a look before stepping inside, Lydia following. It was quiet, almost too quiet, and Stiles didn’t want to know what he’d find when he took a look around.

“There’s nothing here,” Lydia muttered with a huff, “we should go home,”

“My dad wants us to stay out here until we find someone, or evidence of someone,” Stiles replied in a hushed whisper, “and maybe stay quiet, we don’t know if there’s any dead ones shuffling around,” Lydia sighed but nodded.

They walked silently through the halls, Stiles had a machete in his hands while Lydia had a gun in hers. They searched every room they could find, and eventually gave up on any hope that someone was around to stay there. There wasn’t even a trace that anyone had lived there, not for a while at least. The two made their way to the gymnasium and they settled down in the middle of the space with sleeping bags and preservable food they’d packed. They chatted comfortably, their dynamic never really changing. It was relatively pleasant until Stiles noticed a shadow moving across the open doors to a hallway that led to the main part of the school. Stiles went still and gave Lydia a look, telling her to shush.

‘What?’ Lydia mouthed and Stiles’ eyes were slightly panicked.

“We’re not alone,” Stiles said so quietly only Lydia could hear him.

“Dead?” She asked in the same matter.

“Too fast,” Stiles stood slowly and gripped his machete tightly. Lydia followed him as he moved to the doors where he’d seen the shadow, but when he looked into the hallway, he saw nothing. With a sigh of relief, Stiles turned, “it was probably me seeing things. Lack of sl-“ he looked up only to see a figure looming over the form of Lydia who had crumpled to the floor, “mother fu-“ Stiles was cut off as the figure moved with speed akin to that of a werewolf and hit him straight in the face, sending him to the floor in a heap just like Lydia, vision blurring and going dark.

* * *

Stiles woke up in a groggy haze. The night was full and the mood shone overhead, slightly towards the lower side of the sky, letting him know that it was pretty late. He was in the middle of the woods, in a small clearing with Lydia next to him still in a crumbled heap. Stiles got into a sitting position, manoeuvring around sticks, rocks and tree roots that threatened to cut up his skin if he moved too suddenly. His hands were tied in a lazy knot with rope, but his legs were left free and Stiles briefly wondered why he and Lydia were taken.

It was then that he noticed the group of people walking around the area. Stiles studied them and frowned. They were human, but they had wolf hides on their backs and heads, the skins acting as a form of cloak and hood, looking like they’d come straight out of a remote tribe that used the hides and pelts of animals as clothing. The hides didn’t quite act like clothing though, Stiles noticed, as the people also wore gloves with claws on the end, wolf claws.

“Hey, what the hell is this?” Stiles decided to ask, and one of the people was at his side in an instant, claws around his neck.

“You will be quite and wait for the Alpha to address you,” he hissed and Stiles frowned but said nothing. They acted like a wolf pack, but they were human. All of them.

“You must forgive him, he can get a little too into it these days,” an older man with greying black hair and dark skin walked up to Stiles, Lydia still unconscious.

“You’re all human…” Stiles trailed off and the man laughed.

“Yes, yes we are, but all of us here used to run with wolves, but we were the only survivors,” the man said with sad eyes.

“Where’d you get so many wolf hides?” Stiles asked and the man’s expression grew somber. Stiles suddenly got it, “oh…they were all your wolves. You wear your werewolves?” Stiles’ eyes widened, “i’m sorry but you know how that sounds and looks right?”

“Yes, of course, but we do it to honour our dead. Some are fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters, we use their claws to help us survive, and their fur protects us in the wild,” the man said, “my name is Malakai, and I’m the alpha of this pack of human wolves. My wife was the alpha in her pack, she was a werewolf. She died protecting me, and I wear her hide with honour,” Malakai told him, “i’m sorry about tying you up, Ken is very much a territorial member of our pack, he brought you and your friend to me to judge your fate. I’m not one for much violence, though, so I will let you go,” Malakai unbound Stiles and Lydia and took a step back.

“Can I wait until she’s woken up?” Stiles asked, glancing at Lydia, “I need to make sure she’s okay. Uh-Ken hit her over the head pretty hard,”

“Of course. You’re welcome to stay as close to her as you need, but I will ask you do not engage with my people,” Malakai told him, “what is your name?”

“Oh, I’m Stiles, and this is Lydia, my girlfriend,” Stiles smiled slightly at the use of the word, “we’re actually a part of a pack ourselves, but ours still has most of its wolves,”

“Interesting, we found that it was us humans who survived much easier than the wolves. When they were bitten, the infection hit almost instantly and they had no chance of survival. We’ve had a few be bitten, but we’ve simply removed a limb and let them continue,” Malakai told him.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles said, “i’ve lost my fair share of people,”

“That I do not doubt,” Malakai smiled tightly.

“How do you survive out here?” Stiles stood and faced Malakai, the man was taller than him by about four inches, and Stiles felt almost instant respect for the man, wondering if there was a form of pack-based magic that existed within humans. Humans often had a presence to them, whether it was one of power, fear and respect, or one that guaranteed others would walk all over them.

“After we took to wearing the hides as what once might consider armour, the animals began to either ignore us or run. The scent of animal also allows the dead to pass by us without disturbing us. They may eat the living no matter what species, but most of the time they will ignore an animal unless it moves, so when they pass we are still,” Malakai explained, “and you and Lydia? How have you survived?”

“We-“ Stiles cut himself off, debating whether or not to tell Malakai about Beacon Hills, but finding communities was exactly what they’d sent him to do. Malakai and his people may not have been behind walls with cultivated farmland and homes, but they had their own way of living and could be introduced to the idea of walls, “we live in a community, one with walls and farmland and houses with beds, working showers and power,” Malakai’s eyes widened.

“How?” Malakai asked, almost falling to the ground in what seemed like disbelief and wonder feeling simultaneously.

“I wasn’t there for the beginning, but Lydia was. They built the walls out of anything they could find, cleared the area of the dead and got generators and solar panels set up, I don’t even know the specifics but they did it and it works. It’s been in operation almost since the beginning of all of this, and it’s _wonderful_. There’s children there, children who were born in this world and have known nothing different, yet know the feeling of a bed under their bodies, the feeling of a hot shower after a cool day and the taste of bread baked that morning. They go to school and they learn with textbooks we’ve found when we scavenge, and they go over to their friends houses for sleepovers and play games,” Stiles smiled as he talked and Malakai had tears in his eyes.

“I had a daughter, barely two months when this started. I wish she would have lived through the last few years to see something like that,” Malakai spoke softly and Stiles’ eyes grew sad but hopeful.

“If your pack wanted to, I could take you to see our community. You don’t have to stay, none of you do, you can come and go as you please even if you decided to stay out here, but it’s a safe place you can go when you need to,” Stiles told him and Malakai smiled.

“I will take you up on that offer, Stiles,” Malakai said and Stiles smiled with him.

* * *

Lydia had woken up not long after, and once the sun turned golden, Stiles and Lydia led Malakai and his pack to Beacon Hills. Stiles was confident Malakai was a good man, and he vouched for his pack, so Stiles trusted his judgement. Lydia seemed happy that they’d run into a group of people, and a little confused as to their methods, but they’d fulfilled what they’d been sent out to do. They found people.

The gates opened and they flooded inside. Malakai fell to his knees, a smile on his face and he laughed. Others from his pack carefully pulled off their hides and did the same. Scott stepped out of his house, Allison in his arms and he made his way to the gates. Malakai’s pack were staring at everything they could, some were watching the children play or Allison in Scott’s arms with tears in their eyes, and others were watching the industry and the people, the bakers and the blacksmiths, the horse caretakers and the mechanics.

“Hello,” Scott said almost warily. Noah came out from a nearby building to greet their newcomers, “i’m Scott, who are you?”

“My name is Malakai,” Malakai stood, his eyes so full of relief and hope that Scott smiled, “this is my pack, my people. We are all human, but we honour our wolves’ sacrifices to us,” Scott sent Stiles a glance and Stiles shrugged, giving him the ‘i’ll explain later’ look.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like, but we will first need to talk to everyone here, is that okay?” Noah spoke up and Malakai nodded, “my name’s Noah by the way, I’m Stiles’ dad,”

“It is very nice to meet you Noah,” Malakai stepped forward and offered his hand which Noah shook, “we will cooperate as much as you need us to,”

“Thank you. If you would all follow me then?” Noah gestured into the town and the pack promptly followed.

“Are you guys okay?” Scott asked, going up to side-hug Stiles and Lydia, Allison squirming in his arms. Scott noted the blood on the side of both Stiles and Lydia’s head, but they both laughed and nodded.

“Never better. Malakai’s a good man,” Stiles told Scott, “he’ll be a good addition here, or maybe a good liaison out there,” Stiles gestured back to the gates.

“You guys did good, I’ll see you later yeah?” Scott asked and they both nodded, “Awesome,” Scott waved them off and starting moving towards the school building.

“What do you say we get some well needed rest,” Lydia turned towards Stiles, “I didn’t exactly get the best sleep while being knocked unconscious and left on the ground in the woods,” Stiles laughed and nodded.

“Come on, let’s go home,” he put his arm around Lydia and they made their way to their house.

Home.

**Author's Note:**

> If you couldn't tell, I kind of vaguely based Malakai on Ezekiel in TWD (By vaguely I mean appearance and demeanour - and the origins of his name - rather than backstory and whatnot. I mean, in fairness, Malakai has more in common with Alpha in TWD in some ways, but Malakai's a good guy.)


End file.
